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Halloween
Masha Adonai. The Queen of Nightward. Super-villain. Halloween has been called many things in her long career but there is only one phrase that makes her stand proud: Member of Heroes Unlimited. Origin In Nightward, it is said that every two centuries a warrior is born embued with the essence of the Nightward itself. In the human colony of Stradavarius there was much breathless anticipation as the clock inched its way toward midnight. The Queen writhed and screamed in agony, giving birth to the first of her twins: Immolasion. Precisely at the stroke of midnight which ushered in All Halloween Eve the Queen screamed again, her shriek of pain echoing through the house. The second of her twins was born. Adonai: beautiful, tender, and small. The Nightwardian was born. The Queen, her task completed, held both of her newborns close. She kissed them, gave them her blessing, and quietly died. Thus was Masha Adonai born, immediately to inheret the title, duties, and responsibilities as Queen of Nightward. As soon as Masha was old enough to understand her lessons her education began in earnest. She was taught the laws and pitfalls of Nightward, Arcane and obscure and occult languages, mythology and monsters, arts and sciences. She was taught the tools of effective leadership; of diplomacy, and oratory skills. She spent long hours in deep meditation, alighning her mind and soul with the energy of Nightward. When she was 13 years old and her mutant powers surfaced (as was expected by the teachers), she was given a full year to master them and then she was officially named Queen of Nightward. To say that Masha's teen years were rocky would be an understatement. She had no time for flirting with boys, boy bands, or trips to the mall. When she wasn't dtudying she was out in the bleak and cold forever night of her homeland, battling alongside her brother Immolasion and her two years older sister Rose. It wasn't until Masha was 21 that she finally found the time to just relax and explore her own interests. At this time she began slipping out of the Nightward in Paradigm City, there to entroll herself in Paradigm University and study civil litigation. She was quite content living in Paradigm, and likely would not have returned to Nightward for several more months had there not been a dire emergency that required her immediate attention and intervention. Returning to the Nightward, Masha was devastated to learn that her sister, Rose, had violated one of the imperious laws of the sate: No citizen shall give birth without prior approval. Heartsick, Masha did her duty and banished her beloved sister from the Nightward forever. Riddled with grief and guilt, Masha attempted to redeem herself by returning to Paradigm City and deciding to follow in the footsteps of other noble beings: superheroes. On her first outing she witnessed a battle between three costumed thugs and a small girl. Infuriated that three grown men would assault a child Masha entered the fight and assisted the girl in defeating her opponents. The girl, Tattletale, thanked Masha and invited her for coffee. After hearing Masha's story, Tattletale promised that she would assist the Nightward in ridding the city of Black Judges, if only Masha would join Tattletale in her own cause? Innocently, Masha agreed. She was dubbed Halloween, given a costume, and became a member of the Armageddon Society. It didn't take Masha long to learn of Tattletale's deception and true motives. Disgusted, Halloween turned on the Society and defeated them all single-handedly before making her escape to Heroes Unlimited. Cleopatra knew the sincerity and truth of Masha's sorrowful apologies and welcomed her as the newest Hero Unlimited. Since that time Masha acts as an ambassador and representative of Heroes Unlimited within the Nightward. She has also come to learn that Flourish and Trick Hand are her nieces, and spends a great deal of time instructing Flourish on occult matters. Quote "The Nightward isn't a playground or a picnic spot." Appearance & Personality Masha du Lioncourt is six feet tall, with a streamlined build that belies her physical strength. She is a stunning beauty with vague Mediterranean features and a slight accent in her speech that causes many to believe she is an Israeli. Her hear is a deep red with black highlights, always worm properly. In public she prefers professional but attractive formal gowns. As Halloween she wears a two-toned black and orange outfit with matching thigh high boots, gloves, and mask. Powers, Skills, and Talents Those detractors whom insist that the very idea that the Nightward itself rises up to strike out at the Black Judges every century as being an absurd tall tale are hard pressed to explain Halloween. In the Nightward, with her feet on Nightwardian soil, Halloween is a force of nature. The Nightward itself responds to her commands: she can change the topography at will, and shift the geology as she desires. The only thing she can not do as far as climate is concerned is stop the rapid encroachment of decay, nor can she cause the sun to rise. Within the Nightward, Halloween's physical strength increases to ultra-human levels. She is able to lift and carry upwards of 200 tons, and she is invulnerable to all forms of conventional attack, save magic and psychic assaults. She does not age, she does not require food or sleep, and she is impervious to all forms of poison, toxin, drug, and disease. Indeed, the fact that she has little resistance to magic and psychic attack is the most likely reason that she has not taken the fight directly to ''Him ''in an effort to end the war for good. Both inside and outside of the Nightward Masha is able to utilize a form of entropic energy that manifests itself as hands. With these hands she can strike multiple foes at once or land several hits at once on a single foe. She can use her hands to bind opponents or create structures such as bridges or ladders. She has been ardently trained to use the entropic hands to reflexively leap to her defense when she is attacked; they will block incoming strike and bat away energy attacks. The hands are also as usable as her normal hands; they can lift and carry objects, handle tools, and perform tasks requiring manual dexterity. There is no limit to how many hands Halloween can summon. Outside of Nightward, Halloween's powers are greatly diminshed. She is still superhumanly strong and durable, able to lift 50 tons and resist the effect of heavy arms fire. But her Nightwardian defenses vanish, meaning that she will need to eat, rest, and sleep normally. Halloween is a natural born leader, a fantastic orator, and a magnanimous diplomat. She is skilled in virtually every socio-political arena and speaks 26 languages fluently. She is well versed on both Earth and Nightwarding politics, socio-economics, and demographics.